It is based on the true story of Juana Maria, a Nicoleño Native American left alone for 18 years on San Nicolas Island during the nineteenth century.
By that time, a strong storm arose, and the crew of "Peor es Nada," realizing the imminent danger of being wrecked by the surf and rocks, panicked and sailed toward the mainland, leaving her behind.
"[4] Due to inclement sea-faring weather, the ship could not return and she lived on the island for nearly two decades before being discovered and taken to the mainland in 1853 by sea otter hunter Captain George Nidever and his crew.
[2][3] In 2009, the University of Oregon archaeologist Jon Erlandson found two old redwood boxes eroding from an island sea cliff, with whalebone placed on top of them.
Vellanoweth and Barnett-Thomas examined the contents in a San Nicolas Island laboratory, documenting nearly 200 artifacts of Nicoleño, Euro-American, and Native Alaskan manufacture.
[7][3] The team’s work resulted in the opening of the cave being excavated, but local Native American tribes requested the dig be stopped and the Navy complied.
[3] The following year, Professor Patricia Martz started an online petition to stop the Navy’s plans to move artifacts from San Nicolas Island to a facility in China Lake.
[9] Despite gaining over 390 signatures, representatives from the Navy responded to the petition and formally expressed the safety and regulatory requirements met by China Lake.
One day, a ship of Russian fur hunters and their Creole and Aleut workers led by Captain Orlov arrive and persuade the Nicoleños to let them hunt sea otter in exchange for other goods.
She observes the Aleuts closely and realizes that a girl named Tutok takes care of the domestic duties including getting water from the pool near Karana's cave.
"[18] In a retrospective essay about the Newbery Medal-winning books from 1956 to 1965, librarian Carolyn Horovitz wrote: "The girl, Karana, is portrayed in such intimate and close relationship with the natural elements of her background, the earth, the sea, the animals, the fish, that the reader is given both the terror and beauty of life itself.
[23] The first-person point of view employed throughout the text is another narrative technique that serves to strengthen Karana's characterization and convey her courage and love.
[20] The book can be considered a "Robinsonade", meaning that it tells the story of a character who must survive on a deserted island (or the equivalent), named after The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.
[20][24] Diann L. Baecker, a professor of Languages and Literature, suggests that the text is more than merely a "rescue narrative" where an orphan girl needs to be saved by a paternalistic hero.
[23] Literary scholar and professor C. Anita Tarr argues the success of the story should be attributed to Karana's lack of emotions and the major gaps in O'Dell's writing, which allow readers to fill in their own interpretations and feelings.
[21] Additionally, scholars agree that Island of the Blue Dolphins has both challenged and reproduced harmful stereotypes of Native peoples that had been propagated by past publications.
[20][25] Jon C. Stott, a professor of English, states that O'Dell's position as a Non-Native writer helped bring more attention to the culture and stories of Indigenous people.
[22] Carole Goldberg, a Professor of Law and scholar of Native American studies, highlights Island of the Blue Dolphins as what is known as a "vanishing Indian story".
[25][26] Island of the Blue Dolphins plays into this harmful idea as all the members of Karana’s tribe are either brutally killed or taken away by missionaries, thus disappearing from the narrative entirely.
[20][25] Sara L. Schwebel, chair of the Carolina Children’s Literature consortium and English professor, states that Island of the Blue Dolphins should be better integrated into school curriculum alongside relevant contemporary scholarship.